There's a joke by Jim Gaffigan that "camping was a tradition in everyone's families until we invented the house". While that's true, even after the house had been around for hundreds of years my Great-Great-Grandparents loaded up a car with gear and headed west to Yellowstone. Subsequent generations have been backpacking along the Appalachian Trail, kayaking in Florida, fly fishing in Montana, beach combing in Maine, and hiking in Oregon.

I recently had a buddy go on a rant on how people in RVs couldn’t consider themselves campers, that these glampers, a recent term for “glamorous camping” weren’t really camping at all. Chuckling, I reminded him that his expedition level Jeep complete with off-road trailer, rooftop tent, refrigerator, heater, AC, could probably be considered an RV. Camping has not had a definition update in a very long time, and this creates friction and a sense of superiority among the different classes of campers. T

2016…what a year. More than any other, it’s been 365 days marked by some weekly event that makes you feel just a little bit worse. Whether it’s been politics, celebrity deaths, or the loss of a beloved gorilla...

Quiet is something of a rarity now a days. I’m writing this before the results of the election, but I'm sure that no matter the result the noise will be reaching a crescendo on the TV, on the radio, on social media. Noise, flashing lights, and images pour out of every outlet to where it overwhelms you, trapping you and demanding your attention and response....

14 years ago I took a trip down the Catawba River for the first time, paddling the 7 miles from the Lake Wylie Dam to River Park. This was before River Park had the new bridge across Manchester creek, before there was a picnic shelter or a proper kayak put in...